Posted by judy1 on June 10, 2002, at 14:33:22
In reply to drugs and manic switches » judy1, posted by beardedlady on June 10, 2002, at 10:01:51
So in a case like Wendy's, for example, when she was on Zoloft for awhile and was then diagnosed with
bipolar? In your opinion, does that mean Zoloft had a manic switch, and maybe it was caused by the drug? I
really thought it was hereditary and that you sort of had it all your life--it didn't just show up one day. (That's only
because the folks I know who had it had parents with it.)I totally agree with you that there is a genetic base, (and I don't know Wendy's history, sorry). When I first entered the STEP-BD program, that was one of the first questions asked- any parents/siblings diagnosed bipolar? So, yes, if one is genetically predisposed and is triggered by a med then you can be pretty certain that person has bipolar disorder. But, until that person has a hypomanic or manic episode without a medication trigger (prednisone is another big culprit in triggering mania), they CANNOT be officially diagnosed with bipolar disorder. So if that was my story, I would not take mood stabilizers or anti-psychotics in anticipation of another episode. I would prefer to be spared all those nasty side-effects and what about decisions like having a child or even the stigma of such a label? Sorry for going on.... Take care, Judy
P.S. Usually when there is a manic reaction to an AD it happens in the first few days (if there is no mood stabilizer in place). For example, I took 20 mg of prozac for 2 days then spent the next week in a psych ward trying to get a psychotic manic episode stabilized)
poster:judy1
thread:232
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20020516/msgs/295.html